By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK — A 21-year-old Detroit man turned himself in to Lincoln Park police and admitted he used a .22-caliber rifle to try and scare three people in a car.
John Bodart faces four counts of felonious assault for allegedly wounding a 19-year-old River Rouge woman after firing two rounds at a car.
Police responded shortly after noon May 24 to reports of shots fired near the intersection of Lafayette and Warwick. Police said Bodart was driving a 1999 Mercury Marquis and arguing on a cell phone with his girlfriend.
At the intersection, Bodart saw his girlfriend exit a black Honda Civic. Prosecutors said he parked, took a semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle from his trunk, and fired two rounds at the Civic.
Three passengers remained in the car: a 19-year-old River Rouge woman who was struck in the wrist, an 18-year-old woman and a 22-year-old man driving, who drove away after the shots were fired and called 911.
Investigators learned that Bodart was staying at a Detroit address, and spoke with his stepmother, who that evening took Bodart to the police station.
In a report filed by Det. Sgt. Joseph Lavis, Bodart admitted to having argued with his girlfriend and that he took the rifle with him from Detroit “for protection.” Bodart told investigators that while talking with his girlfriend, he heard the other occupants of the Civic making comments about him, which made him angry and he wanted to confront them.
Bodart was arraigned May 25 before 25th District Court Judge David Zelenak on four counts of felonious assault, and as a second-time habitual offender.